Chrome
by Beyond'sXBloodyXLawliet
Summary: Remus lives in the Utopian Society of Chrome, a place where social standing is the key to success and the answer to all of life's woes. Even though Remus is living the high life as one of Chrome's most gifted students, he finds it boring and dull. That all changes when two 'convicts' crash into his life and shows him that there's more to Chrome then meets the eye. AU Slash
1. Chapter 1

Chrome

A/N: So...I'm so excited for this story! I want to try something different with this story and I kind if want to work on something other than Method because I have a feeling that I will be working harder on it than I ever have *le wink! Oh yeah and this is a AU obviously so Hogwarts doesn't exist, they can't do magic, yaddayadda you guys catch my drift right?

XxX

_"Hurry up!" He hissed between clenched teeth as he fearfully looked this way and that in search of someone who would thwart them.  
"I'm trying!" The younger of the two hissed back and quickly climbed down the ladder that lead up to the roof of the building._

_"Are you sure about this?" The younger asked gingerly, afraid of what would happen if someone saw them._  
_"Of course I'm sure! Else we wouldn't be doing this you wimp!" He snarled and grabbed the younger boy roughly and pulled him to the shadows where he was currently hiding._

_"We have till dawn to run as fast as we can, or else they ARE gonna catch us." The older growled and took off towards the fence that surrounded the building they were leaving._

_"More climbing...?" The younger grumbled but nevertheless climbed to the top like the older and vaulted himself over the fence._

_"Here, get on my back." The younger did as he was told and held on tight as the older bolted into the forest without a single glance back._

_"I seriously hope this doesn't come and bite us in the ass..." He mumbled into the older's shoulder, shutting his eyes tightly._

_"I have a feeling it will, how soon, I'm not really sure." The older replied and ran as fast as he could past the trees and their branches that slapped his face, arms, and legs._

XxX

"Ugh..." Remus woke up with a moan of irritation as he tried to shield his eyes with his hand. Damn housekeeper must've pulled the blinds open in an effort to wake him up like usual. He lazily glanced towards his digital clock and groaned when he noticed that he had an hour to get ready and get to school or else he would be late and that would end up going against his perfect school record of no tardies.

He got up and instead of heading towards the shower, he slunked into the kitchen and fixed himself up a meager breakfast of toast and jam. He could've had a very indulgent breakfast, but seeing as he had no time and he wasn't in the mood to be reminded of how lucky he was to be living where he lived.

Remus Lupin was in the top ten of Chrome Graduates, which meant that he was one of the best and brightest of the city. His living quarters were proof that he was a treasure to the city, and that one day he would follow in the footsteps of the famous scientists that created their utopian society of Chrome. He yawned, that speech was starting to get old to him. He remembered the first time he had been given the 'Importance to Society' speech, it was the day he had graduated from high school at the top of his class. They had pulled him aside and had explained that from now on, he would be given whatever he wanted and be treated like nobility in Chrome...If he accepted the offer to join Chrome's University. At the time, Remus was dirt poor and he lived with his mother and father in a two room shack at the edge of the city. So naturally, he accepted without hesitation.

"Worst decision of my life." Remus muttered to himself as he spread the jam on his toast darkly. As a student of the University, he was controlled. What he ate, what he watched, who he even dared to talk to. It was all controlled by the University. He could not eat fattening things, no fried foods, no sugary drinks, nothing except fruits and vegetables, and one thing that nearly made Remus insane, no smoking. Remus wasn't exactly a heavy smoker, but he did enjoy a quick light up every now and then to cope with exam stress. Now that he couldn't, he had resulted towards drinking lots of coffee (which was permitted). He could not watch anything that was deemed too gory, childish, or just not fit for a university student, so needless to say, Remus's flat screen television had only two channels; the Chrome News Channel (CNC), and the Chrome Documentary Channel (CDC). As of his first year of University, Remus had not one friend. Every one else was deemed not smart enough to even breathe the same air as a Chrome Prodigy. So, Remus hasn't talked to his parents in over a year.

Sighing to himself, Remus quickly showered and ran down the hallways of the boy's dormitory to the main building of the school where most of the classes were being held. He made it to his designated class without a minute to spare, he quickly sat down and pulled out the necessary things he would need from his desk.

"And so begins another school day..." He sighed and began to write down what the teacher was writing on the board.

"Okay, students!" The lecturer clapped his hands together and looked at his wristwatch. Remus sighed, he stood up recited the words that he knew by heart.

"I pledge myself to the most beautiful city of Chrome and to those who want to further our beautiful city's advancement. I pledge my undying loyalty to those who keep our beautiful city safe." The class recited as one. Once the two minute moment of silence was done and the class was seated once again, the man on the speaker read off a list of activities the various clubs of the school were holding after school.

"Oh, and before I forget...Students please be careful on your way to your dormitories or if you are going off campus for some reason. Two D-class convicts escaped last night and are believed to be in our area. If you see these two convicts, please do not approach them for they are armed and dangerous. Thank you." After he had said this, the class erupted into whispers. The lecturer tried his hardest to keep them quiet, but to no avail. He eventually let them whisper amongst each other about the escaped convicts since nothing like this had ever happened before. Chrome was one of the safest places on Earth.

"Lupin!" Remus looked to his right and saw the boy whom he hated with a passion. Lucius Malfoy.  
"Yes?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow, unlike most of the students at the University, Lucius could afford the outrageous tuition fee since his family was one of the most prominent families in Chrome. It was even rumored that the Malfoy's had a hand in the creation of the city. Remus wouldn't dispute that since everywhere Lucius went, it seemed that everyone rolled out the red carpet for him and his family.

"Did you hear about what's happening at the East Edge of the city?" He smirked, Remus shook his head.  
"You mean the-" "Shit district?" "-Bronze District?" Remus finished, not wanting to give Malfoy the upper hand.  
"Yeah, the Bronze District," Lucius rolled his eyes. The city was divided into five districts; the Diamond District (located in the North Edge), which was where the upper middle-class citizens lived, the Platinum District (located at the West Edge), where people like Malfoy lived, The Gold District, which was in the middle of the city and was where the important city buildings were housed, The Silver District (located at the South Edge), which was where lower middle class lived, and The Bronze District (located at the East Edge and was Remus's former home), which was where the poorest of the poor lived.

"What's going on there?" Remus asked nervously, ever since he was accepted to the University he hadn't heard anything about his parents except that his father had passed away a few months after the Entrance Ceremony.

"Well, you wouldn't hear about this on the CNC, but since my father works with the higher ups and such, of course he would know!" Remus rolled his eyes and waited for the tidbit of taunting information that Malfoy would surely give him.

"Yes?" Remus prodded, Malfoy glared at him and cleared his throat.  
"There's been a series of kidnappings in the Shit district and guess who's doing it?" He smirked evilly. Remus shrugged, not showing emotion even though inside he was anxious.

"I dunno, the Government?" He mocked the blonde, said blonde shook his head.  
"No, but close." He laughed and returned to his work.

It seemed that class was taking forever to end and when it did, Remus shot out of the classroom and didn't stop until he was in his own room with the door locked behind him.  
"Is he being serious?" Remus asked himself, but shook his head. Malfoy was notorious for bullshitting.  
"Of course he isn't...He's just trying to make me sweat. Asshole." Remus snarled and grabbed his coat, forgetting all about the escaped convicts. Right now his need for air was greater than his inherit need to be safe.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy the opening chapter of this story! I hope I explained a couple of things about the place they live in and such! I had an idea like this stewing in my head and I wrote a draft chapter but it ended up being horrible and not making a lot of sense, of course this was before I even had the idea for Method and I'm glad that I took the time to clean the story plot of this up and fix some things.


	2. Chapter 2

Chrome

A/N: Welcome to chapter 2!

XxX

Remus pulled his jacket closer to his body, it was getting increasingly cold and Remus was glad that he had thought to bring a jacket. He liked the coldness of the month that they were currently experiencing, September was always his favorite month of the year. Back where he use to live in the Bronze District, there would be a measly park where oak tress would grow. These trees were very different than those in the other parks in the nicer districts. These trees turned yellow in September and lost their leaves in December, unlike the ones in the nicer parts of the city that stayed green all year.

He breathed into his hands to generate more warmth since the dark was approaching quickly. He didn't mind it, he welcomed everything about the cold months. He looked up suddenly, noticing that the amount of trees in the area had thinned considerably. The university was situated in the middle of the Gold District which in itself was encased by a circle of trees that resembled a very thick ring of forest.

"I must be subconsciously going home..." He chuckled to himself when he saw the Bronze District sign a little farther off. He did miss home, but as a Chrome University Student he was forbidden from ever going there. He groaned to himself and decided that it would be a good idea to head back to his dorm. He turned around and jumped out of fright when he heard his phone go off.

"Hello?" He answered, hearing a loud boisterous laughter Remus placed the phone on speaker and held it a little ways away from himself.

"Remus! Where are ya?" Remus groaned to himself, it was his roommate Peter Pettigrew. He liked the guy, but he had a penchant for breaking the rules by drinking and sneaking into parties. Basically things that Remus avoided like the plague, alcohol and other people.

"Coming into the Gold District again, got kinda lost." He said and resumed walking back to the university, stopping every now and again to admire the forest.

"Dude, you know we aren't supposed to leave the Gold District!" Peter drunkenly chastised, Remus rolled his eyes.

"You're one to talk, now, where is this big party at?" He hoped it wasn't where he thought it was going to be.

"Our room! Come on, I got a couple of girls lined up to see you bro! Nothing's hotter than a guy who has his own stamp collection." Remus rolled his eyes again and decided that staying out a little longer and crashing out at the library would be the best course of action.

"Don't you ever get tired?" Remus asked, noticing that he had taken a forest path and shrugged it off. He didn't have anywhere that he needed to be.

"Yeah, I guess but in the mornings I just usually drink more beer and I'm okay." Peter answered, obviously not getting the question.

"No, I meant, like, with everything? Don't you ever wish that you...Lived a different life or..." Remus stopped and thought over what he was going to say next.  
"Wished you hadn't taken an opportunity?" He finished with.

"Dude, you just need to get a girlfriend." Peter said and promptly hung up the phone. Remus tightened his fist and shut his outdated flip phone with a 'snap'.

"Of course that...Guy wouldn't know what I was talking about...All he ever wants to do is get drunk..." Remus huffed and stuffed his hands in his pocket in an effort to keep them warm.

"Maybe I'm just ungrateful...? I mean, I have everything I've dreamed for since I was a kid...But it's like I was...Given that dream...Like the teachers forced it on me and I accepted it...Damn, I don't even know what my major is! I bet it's something to do with either science or law enforcement, two things I don't wanna do..." Remus rambled as he walked, he stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder. He felt like someone was watching him.

"H-hello...?" He tried, but no answer. Remus chuckled to himself and resumed walking until he heard a 'snap' of a twig. He looked back again but was blindsided by a hooded man whom was wielding a gun that glinted in the light from the gas lamps that hung off the trees.

"Give me your wallet and I won't kill you." Remus was about to say something, but the hooded man had covered his mouth with a hand. Shaking out of terror, Remus shakily handed his wallet to the man.  
The man took it roughly and pocketed it, but he didn't release Remus, instead he jabbed the student even harder with the gun.

"The watch on your wrist to." Remus felt something stirring inside of him as he refused to take off his watch.  
"No." He said firmly between the man's finger, that got him another sharp jab in his ribs.  
"What did you say to me? Give. Me. The. Watch." The man hissed into his ear, Remus felt goosebumps rise on his skin that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Screw you, this is my dad's watch." Remus bit back at him and was turned around and pistol whipped. The student almost fell to the ground, but the man was holding his arm. To Remus's horror, the man slipped the watch off of his slim wrist and let the student fall to the ground with a dull thud.

"Hey!" Remus yelled and latched onto his assailant, the man merely pistol whipped again and a loud crack exploded from the gun. Pain bloomed in Remus's right leg. He screamed in pain as he held it and passed out when he couldn't take the shock waves of pain anymore. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the hooded man slinking back into the forest with the one thing that connected Remus to his family.

"I'll...find...you..."

XxX

"He's awake! Go get the nurse!" A murmur arose when Remus blearily opened his eyes to see the concerned faces of his fellow classmates. Among them was Peter Pettigrew whom looked like he was about to be sick.

"W-What happened...?" Remus asked as he tried to sit up and winced in pain when he moved his injured leg.

"Don't push yourself!" The nurse scolded him and helped him lay his back among the pillows. She offered him a cup of water, which Remus gulped down and asked his earlier question again.

"Well...Some of the forest workers found you passed out and bleeding from the leg. It seemed that you were mugged and...Shot." Remus blinked as he looked down at his leg and tried to move it gingerly.

"The bullet has been removed and you should be fine after you've rested a bit...Though, your leg isn't going to be as it once was, I'm afraid." The nurse said and shooed the students whom were dispersing now that Remus was awake and alive.

"Have they found the culprit?" Remus asked as he gave the cup to the nurse, she shook her head.  
"I'm afraid not, no trail either. Sorry." She added as an afterthought, she regarded him oddly when she noticed that there was a growing smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, dear, you're shaking!" She draped a blanket over him and patted him on the back in a comforting manner. However, Remus wasn't shaking from fright or cold, he was shaking from excitement. He was excited because now something odd and unexpected had come to bless his dull life.

A few days later Remus was in the forest area that surrounded the Gold District, he had been hanging around there in case he caught a glimpse of the hooded figure even though it wasn't likely. He even had resulted to asking people whom frequented the area, like morning runners or forest workers. None of them had seen the mystery man Remus was referring to. Most looked at him oddly when he explained his predicament, but Remus found that once he mentioned his father's priceless watch and what it meant to him, their odd expressions would turn to one of understanding and sympathy. He felt bad though, the watch wasn't the reason (well the most important reason) why he wanted to seek out his midnight assailant. He wanted to meet this man, he wanted to see his circumstances, he wanted to see if this was the run of the mill mugger or someone who had resulted into mugging because of something happening to him. He wanted, no needed, to know this man's reason or his lack thereof.

After the third day of visiting the forest non-stop (and four days after he was released from the infirmary), Remus went home a little more disappointed than usual. He sighed as he unlocked his door and blinked in surprise when it was already unlocked.

"Peter forgot to lock the door again...?" He asked himself and entered the dorm, putting down his bookbag on the table and going into the kitchen for a quick snack before studying and possibly falling asleep to the nature programs on the CDC. Yup, that sounded like a pretty good end to an uneventful day.

After he had gotten his snack, he finished studying, and he scolded Peter when he came in about leaving the door unlocked, Remus decided to skip out on the CDC marathon on spiders and just get right to sleep.

XxX

A/N: Any guesses for the person who shot Remus? 


End file.
